Darby grinned wide. “The pleasure's all mine.” He looked back and forth between Elias and Amethyst and cleared his throat. “Now then. The, ah, reason I've come over is t' discuss a matter that Master Elias and I have agreed upon. I want t' make sure that we're clear across th' board here.” He frowned slightly. “I'd hate t' have t' march m' boys back home. That's not what we want to do.”
Amethyst nodded. “I am listening.”
“Aye, that's good.” Darby shifted on his feet for a moment. “When we agreed t' supply soldiers t' young Master Elias here, it wasn't out o' the goodness of our hearts. We'll fight t' free the Northlands, because o' the raids we suffered when the rebels took hold.” He looked Amethyst in the eye. “We'll fight t' free Lonwick from the clutches o' the Felle fer the same reason.”
Amethyst furrowed her brow. “I was unaware that the Felle were raiding the mountains strongholds.”
The tall, heavyset dwarf shook his head. “Not the Felle, yer Grace. Lonwick herself. We're tired of our sweat and blood goin' t' line the pockets of elven lords in gold. We want t' be able to govern ourselves, plan our own cities, our own crops and harvests, and sell our goods at our own fair prices.”
Amethyst frowned. “But Lonwick's mines have been a staple of our shared prosperity for generations. If we lose that supply, then our economy will suffer. How do you propose to avoid that?”
Darby shrugged. “Frankly, yer Grace, Lonwick's prosperity is neither th' duty nor concern of the dwarves. Y' could start by payin' a fair price fer our iron, not taxin' our gold, and lettin' us live in peace. Perhaps then, Lonwick could trade with us, instead of makin' its profits off o' our backs.” Darby looked Amethyst in the eye again. “We may not still be slaves, accordin' t' yer law and history books, but we ain't far from it.”
Amethyst nodded. “I understand your concerns, Master Darby. What do you propose your borders to be?”
Darby looked away sheepishly. “T' be quite honest, yer Grace, we ain't got that far yet. Most of us're thinkin' it'll stretch from Silverdeep t' the mountains just north o' Greatport, an' from the valley t' the coastal range. Seems only fair, what with those bein' the mountains we live an' work in.”
Amethyst pursed her lips. “That's a sizable territory. It would impede Lonwick's access to the sea, as well as our lumber and fishing.”
Darby nodded. “Aye, at first glance, it would, but I'd like to assume we'd be allies, yer Grace. Free trade an' travel fer all. Besides, most of yer commerce goes through Greatport anyways.”
Amethyst pondered for a moment. “I, unfortunately, don't have the authority to grant such a request. However, if you have a scribe draw up a proposal, I can deliver it to my father. He will, of course, have the final approval.”
Darby chuckled. “Beggin' yer pardon, yer Grace, but he doesn't. This is gonna happen. We'd like it t' be on friendly terms, of course, but if it ain't, well, it ain't. We'll fight alongside ya, an' when the Felle are gone, we'll take our mountains. If that sits ill wi' yer da, well, again, that's neither the concern nor the duty of my people t' correct.”
Amethyst nodded slowly, her eyes locked on Darby. “I see. I will inform my father when next we meet. I await your terms.”
Darby half smiled, narrowing his eyes as he regarded Amethyst. “Somethin' on yer mind, yer Grace?”
Amethyst held his eyes with her own, not looking away. “Nothing I would bother you with at this time, Councilman. I will come to you if I have any questions.”
Darby nodded, bowed again, and departed, walking back towards where the dwarves were setting up their camp along with those that had been in Elias's company. The dwarven camp was buzzing with activity; those dwarves that had been traveling with Elias were delighted to see their kinsmen and were busy swapping stories of their battles amongst the Northmen.
Elias glanced at Amethyst. “Is everything okay?”
Amethyst furrowed her brow. “I'm... not sure. He seems familiar, but I've never met him before. It's odd.”
She sighed and shook her head, watching Darby go. “In any case, my father will not be pleased.”
Elias nodded. “I imagine not. But it is the right thing to do.”
Amethyst shrugged, nearly imperceptibly. “Perhaps.
Elias frowned. “There's no perhaps about it. They are a people that don't want to be ruled by someone other than themselves. It's not right to force them.”
Amethyst huffed. “You are right, of course. My father will take some convincing... he was the one who quelled their previous uprising, and he is not very well dispositioned towards the dwarves. Perhaps their aid will bring him around on that front. I suppose we'll see.”
She looked up at him. “Our forces will, as I said, march out of the Northlands in a day or so. Our work here is nearly done. I am glad that there was not much fighting left when we arrived; we did not lose many soldiers. Lonwick will need every sword and spear we can muster to face the Felle.”
Elias frowned. “Speaking of Lonwick... why did you lie about who you were?”
Amethyst quirked an eyebrow. “I told you that Quartz was not my real name. I even said that I would prefer my identity stay a secret. I would hardly call that a lie.”
“Well, it certainly wasn't forthright.”
Amethyst threw her hands up. “You saw how Eira reacted when she finally got to reveal who I am. There was a sort of sick glee in what she did. They hate Lonwick in the North. Do you think my aid would have been as well received if they Northerners knew who I was? A magic user and the heir to the kingdom of Lonwick?”
Elias shrugged. “I don't hate you, and neither does Brandt. Brynjar didn't hate Lonwick, he ended the southern raids, and Brandt upheld that as well.” He crossed his arms and leaned against a tree. “If the Northerners hated Lonwick, then they would have ridden south and caused some havoc. Rockhill and Silverdeep would have fallen to them long ago, probably Pine River as well. What wouldn't sit well with them, and me, is the deception.”
Amethyst sighed again. “You may be right. You can't deny, though, we're not wanted here.” She looked up at Elias. “You and the queen treat us as if we are enemies. You speak of me hearing your plans as if I am some sort of spy, instead of one of the people helping you make them. I know that is exactly how Eira feels.”
Elias nodded. “There is definitely some tension with the queen.”
Amethyst chuckled. “That is an understatement.”
Elias looked down. “I don't think of you as a spy. Any sort of secret, things being hidden, it makes me second guess what I have shared with that person. It makes me question their motives, their agenda.” He looked back up at her. “Someone very close to me did exactly that, and when the truth came out, it was... not pleasant. I seek to avoid that in the future.”
Amethyst set her hands in her lap and leaned back against the same tree Elias leaned against. She looked over the field at the assembled soldiers and their camps.
“I can tell you for sure, Elias of Stromgard, that my motives lie entirely in defeating the Felle. They were a threat from the south, and their puppets were a threat from the north. Now, they are only a threat from the south. Fighting an enemy on one front is preferable to two, as I am sure you would agree.”
Elias smiled dryly. “I can see that.”
They stayed there in silence, looking out over the field that had been raging with battle not long before. The sun was settling towards the west, though it was not yet touching the mountains. The clouds were beginning to break up, letting a few stray beams of sunlight into the valley. In the field between him and Valtheim, bodies were being loaded into wagons, weapons were being collected, and wounded were being carried away. The cries of men and horses carried on the slight breeze, breaking the stark relative quiet after the battle.
“So this is what victory looks like,” Amethyst said.
Elias nodded slightly. “This is what victory looks like,” he repeated.
~ ~ ~
Elias and Brandt sat alone in Br
andt's chambers. The rooms had survived the assault relatively unscathed, with the majority of the damage to the building being in the great hall, and of course, the highest room that Drakhus had destroyed.
“So you're leaving then,” Brandt said. It was not so much a question as it was a statement.
“Yes. That was the plan, after all.”
Brandt nodded, and took a draught from a horn. He rested his hand on his lap, and licked his lips. “Well... I'm going to miss having you around again. You've proven yourself to be quite useful.”
Elias leaned back in his chair. “There is, of course, the matter of why I came back to the Northlands in the first place. I need warriors, Brandt. Cavalry. If I'm going to march south and fight the Felle, kill the bastard who killed the woman I loved, I need men to help me do it.”
Brandt nodded. “You will. But the Northlands needs its men as well.”
Elias looked down at his hands, and smiled slightly. “I would say that I would bring them back in the same condition I borrowed them, but I think both of us know that wouldn't be true.”
Brandt nodded again. “We would.”
Elias was conflicted. He knew that he was asking for a lot; what with the rebellion in the north having been quelled for not even a day, Brandt would need as many men as he could muster to keep the peace. True, the ringleaders of the treason were dead, but the entire Northlands reeled from this short, bloody war. Tens of thousands were slain, and winter was fast approaching.
On the other hand, Brandt would never have stood a chance of winning this war if it hadn't been for the help he'd gotten from Elias and Amethyst. He owed a great debt to both of them, and they were both preparing to march south to fight the very forces that had spurred the rebellion on in the first place, the Felle.
Brandt sighed, drained his drinking horn, and slammed it down on the table. “You'll have your cavalry. I don't know how many I'll be able to pull together, but you'll have them. You'll have Northern swordsmen too... I don't want you standing there with nothing but a Lonwick spear to guard your back.” He stood, reaching his hand out to Elias. “I will have them start preparing immediately. Best not let them get used to sitting about. It makes them lazy. Puts moss on their asses.”
Elias reached out, gripping Brandt's wrist while Brandt gripped his. “Thank you, brother.”
Brandt smirked. “It's King brother again, thanks to you.” He pulled Elias close and embraced him. Pushing Elias back, Brandt held him at arm's length and looked him in the eye.
“Don't die.”
Elias clapped Brandt on the shoulder and grinned. “I don't intend to. I've got far too much to do before I see the top of a pyre.”
They stepped out of Brandt's chambers together. In the great hall, a dozen servants were busy clearing the debris from the attack from the tables and benches, Eira overseeing their work. She turned to look at Brandt and Elias as they emerged, glancing between them, but saying nothing.
Brandt turned to Elias. “Let me handle her. She will object, but she will come around, and in the end, I am the one who sits on the throne.”
Eira must have heard him, because she turned away, busily directing the servants in removing the debris from the tables and benches. Elias bowed to her as he passed, but she didn't acknowledge him. While her cool demeanor saddened him, he understood; she firmly opposed Lonwick, its agenda, and its presence in the Northlands, and he was preparing to ride south to their aid. Explaining to her that it was to achieve a mutual goal would have been a waste of time. She already knew, but seemed to be blinded by her hatred of the south. No, it would be best, at this point, to just take his leave.
Jenna was waiting for him as he walked stiffly out of the building. She fell into step beside him as he moved through the courtyard.
“Heading south soon, I suppose?”
Elias nodded. “As soon as Amethyst and her soldiers march out, we'll be joining them.”
“I assume Darby and the dwarves will accompany us.”
Elias nodded again. “Yes. They've brought ten thousand, and Brandt has promised us what cavalry he can spare. It won't be much, but it will be something.”
Jenna sighed. “Something is better than nothing. We lost a lot of good warriors in the North.”
“We did. But we rooted out a Felle agent, and ended a rebellion.”
Jenna looked up at him as they walked. “That's a bit of a far cry away from just hunting down a single man.”
Elias walked along in silence for a moment, then said, “But it was the right thing to do.”
Jenna nodded. “It was. I'm glad we did it.”
Elias looked down at her. “You were the loudest voice of dissent.”
Jenna shook her head. “I didn't ever not support you or your decisions. All I have ever wanted was to make sure that the decisions being made were sound ones.”
Elias raised an eyebrow. “Well? Were they?”
Jenna chuckled. “There were some decisions I wouldn't have made. Trusting that elf girl was one of them. Rescuing Eira was another.”
Elias frowned a little. “They were instrumental to the war effort.”
Jenna nodded again. “That is true, but they were risks. I am glad that they turned out well, but they were risks nonetheless.” She sighed. “I suppose, though, taking risks is part of being in charge. You've become a very effective leader, Elias.” She looked back up at him. “Just, try not to charge headlong into suicide missions anymore. If Brandt and the dwarves had been half an hour later, you'd have been killed.”
Elias spread his hands. “I'm not sure what else I could have done. I was needed. If I hadn't, we may never have broken the western front. I didn't know that Brandt was on his way with an army of dwarves.”
They reached the main gates of Valtheim in fairly short order. By now, the wounded from both sides had been taken from the field and brought to camps where they could be treated and released, or treated and sent to detention. Elias had to admit, though the elves of Lonwick seemed to be haughtier and less passionate than the Northmen, they were definitely better organized and much more efficient. The Northmen had already stripped most of the dead of their armor, weapons, and useful gear, despite the looks of distaste they got from the southern elves.
Sargoth was near the gate. It seemed to be a preferred spot for him, and he had worn away the grass with his scales as he lay there in what was now a sizable patch of bare dirt.
“Greetings, Elias. It is good to see you up and about.”
“It is good to see you again as well, Sargoth. You brought this battle to a swift and decisive close. For that, I am grateful.”
Sargoth chuckled, his deep voice reverberating into the ground. “In this case, the pleasure was all mine. I'd been itching to turn that man into ash since we first met at Tiefuhr. It felt good to finish our business.”
Elias smiled, and leaned against the wall. “I am curious, though, how you managed to burn him. Each time I saw you attack, your fire washed around him. How did you break through?”
Sargoth shrugged, rolling his shoulders. “I'm not entirely sure. I think he wasn't expecting me, and so wasn't ready with anything that might have been able to resist my flames. I know for certain that he was outside of the Queen's magical exclusion reach, so he wasn't stopped from working his magic... the pain in my chest convinces me of that.”
Sargoth reared back slightly, showing the blackened scales where Drakhus had struck him with his dark energy. “He didn't break through my hide, of course, but it still left a nasty bruise. Too much more of that would have broken my ribs or my breastbone.” He settled back down, wincing. “Bloody hard to get comfortable now.”
Elias nodded. “I am sorry for your pain, but I am glad you came to our aid all the same. At least you were not wounded further.”
Sargoth shrugged again, wincing slightly as he settled down. “To be frank, there wasn't much more I could do. You and your allies had done most of the work before I made it back. Flying is faster than marchin
g, but slower than magic.”
Elias looked out over the battlefield that surrounded Valtheim. “The men of the North fought bravely, that is for sure.” He looked up at Sargoth, who was eyeing him. “What brought you back again? You certainly don't owe me any debt. We settled that when you helped me defeat the stronghold at the Hollow Island, and I delivered you back to the mainland.”
Sargoth lowered his head nearer to Elias. “To be honest, I didn't necessarily come back for you. I am fond of you, yes, but I'd prefer not to die facing a wizard. It was for Eira, when she called for me.”
Elias furrowed his brow, and Jenna frowned. She had been standing nearby, listening to their conversation, but hadn't spoken until now.
“Why Eira? What debt do you owe her that you feel compelled to aid her?”
Sargoth glanced over to Jenna. “It's not precisely a debt owed, more a mutual respect. Dragons, such as myself, tend to fly. A lot. Not all of us, of course. The ones who gave their skin for your shirt, Elias, are of a different breed, but those of us with wings and minds owe our creation to Eira's forebears. One of the masters of Air, eons ago, is responsible for most of the flying dragons like me.”
Elias was surprised. “You were created by the master of Air?”
Sargoth shook his head. “Not me personally, no. I was hatched from an egg, much like any other dragon you'd see. But the very first dragons with metal scales were brought into being by several masters on the Council. It was the master of Earth that gave us form and claws, the master of Fire that gave us our flaming breath and minds, and the master of Air who breathed life into us and filled our wings with the wind.”
Sargoth drummed his claws on the packed earth. “From there, our kind propagated like any other.” He glanced over to the Lonwick army camp. “I suppose I could owe some sort of debt of gratitude to the young master of Earth as well, but she did not call for me. Eira did. And I was honor bound to answer.”
Jenna nodded. “That's fair enough, I suppose.”
Elias pushed off of the wall, wincing as he put weight on his leg. “In any case, Sargoth, I will be leaving Valtheim when Lonwick's soldiers do. We'll be marching and riding south, to face the rest of the Felle army. I would be honored if you would join me.”
Thunderbolt (Dynasty of Storms Book 2) Page 32
